Custom Wood PC Case

[toastythomas]

This afternoon I will start to mount my hardware to my wooden PC case and I was just looking for some advice when it comes to the assembly process. I will be mounting the Plexiglas to the wooden pegs and mount all of the hardware. Any tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, guys!

PC Specs:

-Intel DH77EB Desktop Board LGA1155

-Intel Core i5-3470 Processor

-Intel Stock CPU Cooler

-HyperX 8GB DDR3 Memory

-ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Mini

-WD Black 1TB Performance HDD

-Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB 2.5" SSD

-CX450M - 450 Watt 80 PLUS

 

Wooden Board + Pegs + Plexiglas

Spoiler

Inventor 3D Render

Spoiler

[Pickelhaube]

Make sure to have a lot of fans in this thing. Wood is a good insulator, so letting the heat soak into the wood is a bad idea and will slowly heat up your components until they could thermal throttle. I would put fans in this thing sort of like a 2U (server) rack case. (Two - Three intakes in front, Two - Three Exhausts in the back).

[toastythomas]

2 minutes ago, RektSkrubs said:

Make sure to have a lot of fans in this thing. Wood is a good insulator, so letting the heat soak into the wood is a bad idea and will slowly heat up your components until they could thermal throttle. I would put fans in this thing sort of like a 2U (server) rack case. (Two - Three intakes in front, Two - Three Exhausts in the back).

I totally get that. I will build the computer today without the extra fans and see how things go over the course of multiple hours.  I do have a couple of fans lying around that I could mount if needed. Thanks, man.

[Dormant God]

Crazy Idea, I wouldn't ever think of something like this It's actually pretty nice, though I think clear acrylic would be best, though.

 

[Pickelhaube]

Just now, Dormant God said:

Crazy Idea, I wouldn't ever think of something like this It's actually pretty nice, though I think clear acrylic would be best, though.

 

I think a gallium cooled PC would be fun... for about 5 minutes, or until your PC cools below 87ºF and your tubes either rupture or it eats away at your aluminum parts.

[toastythomas]

2 minutes ago, Dormant God said:

Crazy Idea, I wouldn't ever think of something like this It's actually pretty nice, though I think clear acrylic would be best, though.

 

The protective plastic wrap is still on. Not taking it off until I am finished drilling.

[toastythomas]

1 minute ago, RektSkrubs said:

I think a gallium cooled PC would be fun... for about 5 minutes, or until your PC cools below 87ºF and your tubes either rupture or it eats away at your aluminum parts.

lol @JayzTwoCents

[Pickelhaube]

2 minutes ago, toastythomas said:

lol @JayzTwoCents

It would be so NSFMR when it's glass tubing and they all shatter once the gallium cools and expands... then it would look awesome with all metal tubes.

[brob]

How are the motherboard standoffs mounted in the case base?

 

[toastythomas]

3 minutes ago, brob said:

How are the motherboard standoffs mounted in the case base?

 

I was thinking of using screws and just leave a nut in between the motherboard and the wood. Or maybe no standoffs at all.

[brob]

18 minutes ago, toastythomas said:

I was thinking of using screws and just leave a nut in between the motherboard and the wood. Or maybe no standoffs at all.

You must have standoffs of some sort. Airflow under the motherboard is an absolute requirement. Especially under the cpu socket, power distribution area, and chipset. These areas, particularly the first two generate a lot of head on the underside of the motherboard.

 

Standard height, if memory serves is 7mm. If you use screws with nuts to separate make sure that the screw head and nuts will not short the motherboard.

 

Depending on the case material thickness, you may be able to use a counter sunk nut into which the standoff screws. There are many different standoffs available so you should be able to find something that will work.

[toastythomas]

3 hours ago, brob said:

You must have standoffs of some sort. Airflow under the motherboard is an absolute requirement. Especially under the cpu socket, power distribution area, and chipset. These areas, particularly the first two generate a lot of head on the underside of the motherboard.

 

Standard height, if memory serves is 7mm. If you use screws with nuts to separate make sure that the screw head and nuts will not short the motherboard.

 

Depending on the case material thickness, you may be able to use a counter sunk nut into which the standoff screws. There are many different standoffs available so you should be able to find something that will work.

Welp. It's a couple hours later and the hardware is mounted but the computer isn't turning on. The motherboard has its green light on but nothing is happening. I've tried everything online.

 

[brob]

4 hours ago, toastythomas said:

Welp. It's a couple hours later and the hardware is mounted but the computer isn't turning on. The motherboard has its green light on but nothing is happening. I've tried everything online.

 

Describing the power-on wiring and switch would be helpful.

[toastythomas]

On 12/30/2016 at 11:25 PM, brob said:

Describing the power-on wiring and switch would be helpful.

Hey man, New Years has been crazy. It was a super simple mistake and I'm really stupid. I was trying to turn on the computer through the "I/O headers" even though it was not the I/O header. Took me three hours and lots of stress to figure that out.

[brob]

10 hours ago, toastythomas said:

Hey man, New Years has been crazy. It was a super simple mistake and I'm really stupid. I was trying to turn on the computer through the "I/O headers" even though it was not the I/O header. Took me three hours and lots of stress to figure that out.

Happy New Year.